Restraint and Isolation

The Washington State Legislature directs funds for OSPI to monitor and publish rates of restraint and isolation, as well as offer supports to schools and districts to reduce the use of these practices.

Washington state law does not allow the use of restraint and isolation on K-12 students during school-sponsored instruction and activities, unless necessary to stop behaviors that will cause serious harm. OSPI recognizes the importance of keeping students and staff safe from physical and emotional harm. We therefore encourage districts and schools to build systems that support students in distress and prevent crises before they occur. To support this work, we have collected free training opportunities, relevant laws, and resources recommended by advocates and educators.

Reducing Restraint & Eliminating Isolation (RREI) Project

This statewide initiative operates from June 2023 – June 2025. Find information on Demonstration and Pilot Sites, as well as technical assistance.

Training (Professional Development)

OSPI is offering pre-recorded professional development on pdEnroller, as well as hosting a number of in-person and live virtual trainings. In addition, paraeducators can access free statewide standards-based training through PESB's Paraeducator Certificate Program on Professional Learning US (PLUS).

Pre-Recorded Trainings Available Now

Collaborative & Proactive Solutions Training: Moving from Power to Problem Solving with Dr. Ross Greene

  • 3 clock hours (1.5 Equity / 1.5 Special Education)

Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: True Crisis
Prevention with Dr. Ross Greene

  • 9 clock hours (5 Equity / 4 Special Education)
Upcoming Trainings

Check back in June 2025 for a series of asynchronous sessions for paraeducators and other school staff, developed in partnership with And Still We Rise.

Current Law

The following provisions apply to all students, including those who have an individualized education program (IEP), or plan developed under Section 504.

  • Use of restraint or isolation is permitted only when reasonably necessary to control spontaneous behavior that poses an imminent likelihood of serious harm.
  • Districts must annually submit data for incidents of restraint and isolation to OSPI, and OSPI must publish this data to its website (available in the Data & Reporting Requirements section of this page).

Definitions

Restraint: Physical intervention or force used to control a student (including the use of a restraint device) to restrict a student's freedom of movement.

Isolation: Restricting the student alone within a room or any other form of enclosure, from which the student may not leave.

Imminent: Being likely to happen at any moment, rather than farther away in the future.

Likelihood of serious harm: A substantial risk that physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon themselves or another.

Sources: RCW 28A.600.485 and RCW 71.05.020

Here are some examples of behaviors that very likely do not pose a significant risk of serious harm and therefore would need to be addressed without the use of restraint or isolation:

  • Not following school staff directions
  • Refusal to go to class or complete schoolwork Refusal to sit down or use an assigned seat
  • Using profane, offensive, or otherwise disrespectful language
  • Ripping decorations or artwork off the wall

Prohibited Practices

It is the policy of Washington state to protect children from assault and abuse. Therefore, the following practices are prohibited:

  • Prone (lying face-down) restraints,
  • Supine (lying face-up) restraints,
  • Wall restraints,
  • Any other act that restricts a student’s breathing,
  • Corporal punishment,
  • Any act that causes bodily harm beyond temporary marks.

Source: RCW 9A.16.100, RCW 28A.150.300, and WAC 392-172A-02076

Full Legal Definitions

"Isolation" means restricting the student alone within a room or any other form of enclosure, from which the student may not leave. It does not include a student's voluntary use of a quiet space for self-calming, or temporary removal of a student from his or her regular instructional area to an unlocked area for purposes of carrying out an appropriate positive behavior intervention plan.

"Restraint" means physical intervention or force used to control a student, including the use of a restraint device to restrict a student's freedom of movement. It does not include appropriate use of a prescribed medical, orthopedic, or therapeutic device when used as intended, such as to achieve proper body position, balance, or alignment, or to permit a student to safely participate in activities.

"Restraint device" means a device used to assist in controlling a student, including but not limited to metal handcuffs, plastic ties, ankle restraints, leather cuffs, other hospital-type restraints, pepper spray, tasers, or batons. Restraint device does not mean a seat harness used to safely transport students. This section shall not be construed as encouraging the use of these devices.

Source: RCW 28A.600.485

“Likelihood of serious harm” means:

(1) A substantial risk that:

(a) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon his or her own person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to die by suicide, or inflict physical harm on oneself;

(b) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon another, as evidenced by behavior that has caused such harm or that places another person or persons in reasonable fear of sustaining such harm; or

(c) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon the property of others, as evidenced by behavior that has caused substantial loss or damage to the property of others; or

(2) The person has threatened the physical safety of another and has a history of one or more violent acts.

Source: WAC 392-172A-01109

The following actions are presumed unreasonable when used to correct or restrain a child: (1) Throwing, kicking, burning, or cutting a child; (2) striking a child with a closed fist; (3) shaking a child under age three; (4) interfering with a child's breathing; (5) threatening a child with a deadly weapon; or (6) doing any other act that is likely to cause and which does cause bodily harm greater than transient pain or minor temporary marks. The age, size, and condition of the child and the location of the injury shall be considered when determining whether the bodily harm is reasonable or moderate. This list is illustrative of unreasonable actions and is not intended to be exclusive.

Source: RCW 9A.16.100

Restraint and Isolation Legislative Workgroup

ESSB 5693 Sec. 501(3)(h)(i) provided a directive to create an advisory workgroup to address student restraint and isolation in Washington state. The workgroup was facilitated by the University of Washington SMART Center and guided largely by the lived experiences of self-advocates, families, and educators. They met nine times from August – December 2022, during which four categories of recommendations were developed:

Eliminate isolation and chemical restraint from schools; Improve access to proactive and effective mental health supports, and trauma-informed behavior supports;

Review the full Crisis Response Workgroup Legislative Report

  • Increase educator training of de-escalation practices;
  • Improve data collection and reporting.
Workgroup-Recommended Crisis Programs

To eliminate isolation and reduce the need for restraint, the workgroup found that ongoing educator training of crisis prevention and de-escalation practices is necessary. The following is a list of recommended trauma-informed crisis intervention programs that do not provide training in the use of prone restraint. Districts may consider the specific needs of their students and staff when selecting a program.

Tier 1 Supports

In addition to selecting a high-quality crisis prevention and intervention program, the workgroup found the following classroom practices to be effective for reducing the need for crisis procedures (see below).

  • Defining, teaching, and reinforcing predictable and positive school/classroom expectations and routines using trauma informed lens (PBIS/ISF Tier 1 practices)
  • Building, repairing, and actively evaluating relationships
  • Teaching and practicing self-regulation strategies for adults
  • Direct instruction in self-regulation/Social Emotional Learning skills for students
  • Implementing universal design for learning
  • Proactive behavior management
  • Culturally responsive teaching practices that promote a culture of dignity for all students
  • Consistent access for student’s identified accommodations and communication supports
Tier 2 Supports
  • Reducing staff/student ratios
  • Self-regulation strategy choices for student
  • De-escalation strategies (verbal and non-verbal)
  • Brief functional behavioral assessment (FBA)/behavior intervention plan (BIP
  • Timely access to mental health supports via small groups and family supports
Tier 3 Support
  • Function based escalation review process
  • FBA/BIP Timely access to individualized mental health supports as needed

Data & Reporting Requirements

Statewide Data

Reporting Requirements & Follow-Up

Since 2015, Washington state law requires that all use of restraint and isolation be documented and reported to the district, to the student’s parent/guardian, to OSPI, and to the public. Data collection around incidents of restraint or isolation is neither a special education nor a discipline collection, but rather a school safety-related collection. 
To support schools and districts, we have summarized requirements and collected the relevant legal text.

Staff Members: Written Report

If school or district staff use restraint or isolation with a student, they need to tell the school’s principal (or their deputy) as soon as possible. 
Within two (2) business days, the staff member also needs to submit a written report to the district office. This must include:

  • Date and time of the restraint or isolation
  • Name and job title of the staff member(s) involved
  • Description of the actions and circumstances that led to the restraint or isolation
  • Type of restraint or isolation
  • How long the restraint or isolation lasted
  • Whether or not the student was injured
  • Whether or not the staff member was injured
  • What medical care was provided (if the staff or student was injured) Recommendations for student and staff member supports and resources, to avoid similar events in the future.

Legal language can be found below in Section 5 of RCW 28A.600.485]

Schools: Parent Notification and Follow-Up Discussions

Parent Notification

If school or district staff use restraint or isolation with a student, the school needs to tell the parent/guardian verbally, within twenty-four (24) hours.

Within five (5) business days, the school also needs to tell the parent/guardian in writing and provide the written report in their preferred language (see “Staff Members: Written Report” above).

[Legal language can be found below in Section 6 of RCW 28A.600.485]

Follow-Up Discussions

After the use of restraint or isolation, the school needs to follow up with the student and their parent/guardian to discuss:

  • The behavior that led to the restraint or isolation
  • How appropriate this response was to the behavior

The school also needs to follow up with the staff member(s) involved to discuss:

  • Whether or not appropriate procedures were followed correctly
  • What support or training the staff member(s) need to avoid similar events in the future.

[Legal language can be found below in Section 4 of RCW 28A.600.485]

Districts: Reporting and Submitting Data

Reporting Data

Every year, districts need to report data to OSPI summarizing the written reports of restraint and isolation (see “Staff Members: Written Report” above). For each school, the district will report:

  • Total number of restraints and isolations
  • Number of students restrained or isolated
  • Number of student injuries
  • Number of staff injuries
  • Each type of restraint and isolation used

Submitting Data

District staff enter restraint and isolation data into the district’s student information system (SIS), such as Skyward or PowerSchool. This is then submitted to OSPI through CEDARS after the end of the school year and before November 1 of the same year. 


If school or district staff have not used restraint or isolation with a student, then they will submit zero (0) records in CEDARS File S.

Updating or Correcting Data

If a district needs to make updates or corrections to submitted restraint and isolation data, changes are first made in the district’s SIS and then resubmitted to CEDARS.

To access submitted restraint and isolation data, district staff should follow the steps below:

  1. Access CEDARS in EDS
  2. Navigate to Reports > Records Loaded.
  3. Select the most recent school year
  4. Select File S – Restraint and Isolation.

[Legal language can be found below in Section 7(a) of RCW 28A.600.485]

OSPI: Publishing Data

Within three (3) months of receiving yearly restraint and isolation data from each district, OSPI needs to publish it to this website. This data helps guide state work to provide resources for schools and districts, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the use of these practices. 


[Legal language can be found below in Section 7(b) of RCW 28A.600.485

Legal Language from the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 28A.600.485)

(4) Following the release of a student from the use of restraint or isolation, the school must implement follow-up procedures. These procedures must include: (a) Reviewing the incident with the student and the parent or guardian to address the behavior that precipitated the restraint or isolation and the appropriateness of the response; and (b) reviewing the incident with the staff member who administered the restraint or isolation to discuss whether proper procedures were followed and what training or support the staff member needs to help the student avoid similar incidents.

(5) Any school employee, resource officer, or school security officer who uses isolation or restraint on a student during school-sponsored instruction or activities must inform the building administrator or building administrator's designee as soon as possible, and within two business days submit a written report of the incident to the district office. The written report must include, at a minimum, the following information:

The date and time of the incident; The name and job title of the individual who administered the restraint or isolation; A description of the activity that led to the restraint or isolation; The type of restraint or isolation used on the student, including the duration;

(6) The principal or principal's designee must make a reasonable effort to verbally inform the student's parent or guardian within twenty-four hours of the incident, and must send written notification as soon as practical but postmarked no later than five business days after the restraint or isolation occurred. If the school or school district customarily provides the parent or guardian with school-related information in a language other than English, the written report under this section must be provided to the parent or guardian in that language.

(7)(a) Beginning January 1, 2016, and by January 1st annually, each school district shall summarize the written reports received under subsection (5) of this section and submit the summaries to the office of the superintendent of public instruction. For each school, the school district shall include the number of individual incidents of restraint and isolation, the number of students involved in the incidents, the number of injuries to students and staff, and the types of restraint or isolation used.

(7)(b) No later than ninety days after receipt, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall publish to its website the data received by the districts. The office of the superintendent of public instruction may use this data to investigate the training, practices, and other efforts used by schools and districts to reduce the use of restraint and isolation.

  • Whether the student or staff was physically injured during the restraint or isolation incident and any medical care provided; and
  • Any recommendations for changing the nature or amount of resources available to the student and staff members in order to avoid similar incidents.